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Laila Biali

JazzFest 2019

June 25, 2019

Fresh off of a win at the 2019 Juno Awards for Best Vocal Jazz Album of the year, Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist Laila Biali returns for her third appearance at the Medicine Hat JazzFest. Laila has toured with Chris Botti, Paula Cole and Suzanne Vega, and recorded with and supported Sting. Her other accolades include SOCAN Composer of the Year and Keyboardist of the Year at Canada’s National Jazz Awards. She takes the best of pop, rock, classical, world and soul, informs it with her expertise in jazz, and weaves it into her musical arrangements and original songs. Laila has presented her music at prestigious venues spanning five continents including the North Sea Jazz Festival, Tokyo’s Cotton Club, Peru’s El Festival Internacional de Lima, and Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Her studio recording, Tracing Light, received a JUNO nomination in 2011 for Best Vocal Jazz Album of the Year, and her follow-up album, Live in Concert, was given an enthusiastic four-star review and named one of the Best albums of 2013 by Downbeat Magazine. In 2015, Laila released her first album of entirely original music, House of Many Rooms – an indie-pop project featuring Lisa Fischer (Rolling Stones – 20 Feet From Stardom), Jo Lawry (Sting, Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel), Alan Hampton (Robert Glasper, Andrew Bird), and the Toronto Mass Choir.

Expanding on her unique “ability to meld traditional jazz with contemporary pop so effortlessly that neither style seems out of place on the same record” (Spinner Magazine), Laila’s newly released Juno Award winning album is composed of original songs alongside covers of David Bowie, Coldplay and more. She is also the host of Saturday Night Jazz, a national radio show launched by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in September of 2017.

This information is subject to change without notice. Call 403-502-8580 to verify program details, costs and times.
The Esplanade reserves the right to cancel courses, workshops, lectures and/or film showings without notice.